What Could've Happened when Jackie dumped Kelso
by thethingthathasnoname
Summary: The ridiculously long title basically says it all: my version of what I think could've happened when Jackie dumps Kelso for cheating on her with Laurie in S2E20. Hyde has an unwelcome realisation about how thin Jackie is which causes him to do something that he never thought possible: actually care about another human being, let alone that that human being is Jackie Burkhart.
1. Scene 1

Kelso turned and ran out of the basement. Jackie stared after him, her eyes beginning to mist up with tears.

"So um that… that… that was the smartest thing I've ever done… and um, and the best…" Jackie paused to sob and Eric and Donna jumped to their feet to comfort her. She rushed past both of them and threw her arms around Hyde. "Hyde!" She squeaked.

Hyde, surprised by this sudden turn of events, looked up at Eric and Donna, and attempted to shrug although his actions were somewhat inhibited by the attachment of a short brunette around his neck. "Why does she always come to me?"

Eric and Donna simply shrugged back; Eric giving him a sly grin and Donna a sarcastic thumbs-up before they disappeared up the stairs, presumably to have sex. Hyde internally groaned, sometimes he wondered why he hung around with these people.

He looked down at Jackie. He tried to take a step away but she clung on fast. For such a small girl, she was strong. Like a limpet, he thought.

"Er… Jackie?" he attempted. God, he had no idea what to do with girls sometimes. He was cool, he shouldn't have to deal with this emotional crap. Keep it all bottled up inside, that's what he did, why couldn't she?

All he got was a sob in return, and she pressed herself in even closer. If she moved another inch parts of their bodies which Hyde didn't even want to think about right now, especially not on Jackie, would be touching.

"There, there…" he muttered awkwardly, patting one hand on her back. It hung there awkwardly until he slowly slid it down to rest on her side. This was comforting, right?

Man, she was tiny, he thought. Not just height-wise, although she was right up on her tip-toes to hug him, but her waist was impossibly thin.

Yet again – for these moments where coming far too frequently as of late – he was struck with the unsettling reminder that Jackie was HOT.

He shook his head, trying to remove any traces of such abominations from his brain.

Jackie finally looked up at him with those big, brown eyes of hers, throwing Hyde yet again into dangerous waters.

"What's the matter, Steven?" she whispered, voice cracking.

Man, he hated it when she called him that.

"Er… what?" he eloquently replied, half his mind still somewhat preoccupied.

"You…" she gestured shaking her head.

Hyde panicked, his mind went blank; he couldn't exactly admit that he was just thinking how hot she was. Which she wasn't. Well, not that hot.

"You're thin…" he heard his own voice saying after an uncomfortable pause.

"What?" she blinked, confused.

"Don't… don't act like you don't know... You're not fooling me into complimenting you or anything like that…" Hyde stumbled. Man, this was so unlike him.

Jackie blinked again, still somewhat baffled, but also enjoying the attention to her body, which, let's be honest, she was proud of.

"Damn it, Jackie, your waist is tiny!" Hyde continued, still not entirely sure why his mouth kept saying words he hadn't permitted it to say. He was usually so composed, what the hell was happening to him. Damn crying girls, he thought.

"Are you… hitting on me?" Jackie demanded, eyebrows furrowing in anger.

"No!" Hyde protested. "God, no way, man… but… look… why is your waist so ridiculously tiny, I can fit my hands all the way around it…"

"You are hitting on me!" Jackie exclaimed, jumping away from him.

Well, he supposed, at least he managed to get what he wanted in the end.

"No! Eugh! No! Gross!"

At the last minute, Hyde realised perhaps he shouldn't have said that. With yet another wail, Jackie shoved past him and ran out the door, sobbing once again.

Hyde watched her go, for the first time in ages actually feeling bad about upsetting somewhat.

Then he shrugged, she'd get over it, and if she didn't, who cares right? It's only Jackie.

And with that, he sat down and turned the TV on.


	2. Scene 2

"So Steven," Jackie began. Hyde visibly flinched at the use of his first name. "I've decided to forgive your earlier offence, because I'm just such a generous person, and permit you to hang out with me."

"Ah, that's alright Jackie, man, you don't have to do that…" Hyde began, but trailed off under her death stare.

"So what do you want to do, Steven? We could go to the mall, or the cinema?" Jackie continued as though she hadn't even heard him.

He had to respect her perseverance, if nothing else.

"Well, you could go to the mall, and I could wait for you to do your shopping, like, you know, somewhere else, like the other end of the mall… or further away… like in this basement?"

Jackie pouted. Man, he hated it when she did that. And it had nothing to do with the fact that it made her lips look so plump and…

Hyde moved away quickly, not liking where his stupid, messed up brain was taking him.

"Jackie, man, you've gotta find some new friends."

"But I've got you, Steven." Jackie fluttered those stupidly long lashes at him, following him as he moved across the room towards the stairs.

"No, you don't have me, Jackie." Hyde protested.

"Come on, let's go to the mall." Jackie persisted, attempting to grab his arm.

"No." Hyde shrugged away from her.

"Well then what do you want to do?" Jackie jumped up in front of him onto the bottom step, effectively blocking his exit although she barely reached his height, despite her new advantage.

"For the last time, Jackie, NOTHING!" He shouted.

She pouted again, and Hyde's mind wandered into forbidden territories. Great, now he was even more desperate to get out of here.

"Move out the way, Jackie." He demanded.

"No." She stomped her foot, reminding him what a spoilt little brat she was.

"Move out the way!"

"NO!"

"For God's sake, Jackie!" Hyde tried to push past her but she resisted. A short tussle ensued, with them pushing and pulling at each other, eventually ending up back on the bottom step where they had begun.

Hyde took a moment to glare at her, before grabbing her firmly around her ridiculously, irritatingly, definitely-absolutely-completely-not-hot-ly small waist and picked her up, with the intent of spinning her around and dumping her on the other side of him, leaving his escape route clear.

However, what he had not anticipated into this moment was how incredibly light Jackie was.

Everyone knew she was short. It was one of the things he found somewhat attractive about her.

Notice he said ' _somewhat'_ – he didn't find anything about her actually attractive. But if he was held at gunpoint and told to name her better qualities – which, frankly, wasn't something he'd necessarily put past her – he would've probably mentioned that. Along with her face. And her body. And her…

All of a sudden, he realised that he had stopped moving due to his stupidly wandering thoughts, with Jackie still held in his arms, her body pressed flush against his, their faces almost exactly lined up, her breasts pressing against his chest.

Slowly, as though in a trance, he lowered her to the floor, their eyes locked on one another, a tension that terrified Steven as much as it fascinated him, hanging in the air.

Come on, brain, he begged, think of something to say. Now, preferably. Anything. Just. Say. Something.

"Jesus, Jackie, how much do you weigh?" his voice said.

Anything but that.

"I'm sorry, what?!" Jackie almost exploded, attempting to step back, but, for some reason Steven could not think of right now, his arms were still around her so she couldn't. "I know you're poor, Steven, but were you raised without any decency at all! Don't you know never to ask a woman's weight! You just can't ask me that!"

"Whatever, Jackie, was just wondering…" Hyde muttered, trying his hardest to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible. Today had been entirely too confusing already.

"You know how insecure we are about… well about this stuff!" Jackie actually, once again, looked like she was on the brink of tears. "I can't believe you just called me fat!"

"No I didn't!" Hyde protested.

"Yes, you did!" Jackie glared at him, squaring up to him.

"No. I. Didn't." Hyde hated his inability to step down from a fight. Especially if he knew he was right.

"Yes. You. Did."

"Oh shut up Jackie."

"I don't have to shut up; I'm not the one that just called me fat!" Jackie practically wailed.

"For the last time, Jackie, I didn't!" Hyde grabbed her by the waist again – completely automatically and against all better judgement. "I was actually commenting on the fact that you're so ridiculously light! If I ever went to the gym I reckon I could bench press, what, four times your weight." He was rambling now, but for some reason, he couldn't stop. Man, he sounded like Forman. "Eat a doughnut or something, for God's sake, Jackie, you literally weigh, like, nothing!"

Jackie stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.

Hyde stepped back, almost as confused as she was by the words that had just come out of his mouth.

Man, what was wrong with him today; he never lost his cool like this – he didn't _ramble_ … ever! – and especially not over some chick.

He had to get out here.

Without another word, he turned and left, leaving Jackie still staring after him.

Maybe it was some left over weed fumes still hanging in the air of the basement.

Yeah, he told himself, that must be it.


End file.
